Busabase is an open-source database and workspace for AI agents — agents and people share the same structured data, docs, skills, and apps, and writes that matter become reviewed, trusted records.
Every agent session starts from zero. Your CLAUDE.md lives in one repo, the best output dies in a chat, and switching tools means explaining the project all over again.
Busabase keeps the agents stateless and the work durable: connect any agent, and it reads the same records, docs, skills, and apps your team and other agents already left behind — then writes its own work back, with a diff and a history.
Quick Start
npx -y busabase@latest server
Open http://localhost:15419/dashboard/local — no database, account, or config. It starts with embedded PGlite, local file storage, and a demo workspace.
Then point your agent at it. Paste into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, or any agent that can read a URL:
Read and follow the Busabase Agent Skill — it is the single source of truth:
http://localhost:15419/SETUP_SKILL.md
Follow its onboarding to connect to this workspace. Don't choose a merge policy yourself unless I ask for one — submit the change and let Busabase apply my permissions to decide whether it merges now or waits for review. Reply to me in English.
Try this: have one agent record a project's updates and conventions, then open a different agent and ask "What changed on this project this week?" It answers from the workspace, not from your clipboard.
# Docker (Docker Hub: busabase/busabase · GHCR: ghcr.io/busabase/busabase)
docker run --rm -p 15419:15419 -v ~/.busabase/data:/data busabase/busabase
# Global install
npm i -g busabase # then: busabase server
npx busabase-cli --help # API client for any Busabase server
# From source
pnpm install
cp apps/busabase/.env.example apps/busabase/.env
pnpm --filter busabase dev
Desktop for macOS, Windows, and Linux: busabase.com/download — runs locally and works offline.
Local data lives in ~/.busabase/data/ (pgdata/ for the embedded PGlite database, storage/ for files). Set BUSABASE_DATA_DIR, PG_DATABASE_URL, or STORAGE_URL to use another location, external Postgres, or S3-compatible storage. Only one process can hold the same PGlite database at a time.
Features
- One workspace for every kind of agent output — Bases (typed records, relations, views, forms), Docs, Files, Drives, Skills, AirApps, Whiteboards, and Workflows as first-class nodes in one tree. Node types →
- Shared skills across agents — keep
SKILL.md playbooks and custom prompts in the workspace. Playbooks collects them into one catalog every connected agent can look up before it acts.
- Every write accounted for — agent writes travel as Change Requests with a message, a field-level diff, an author, and history. Permissions decide whether a change merges on the spot or waits for review.
- Apps on live data — ask an agent to turn a Base into a dashboard, CRM, or content desk. AirApps run inside Busabase on workspace data, with a
SKILL.md the next agent can read.
- Bring any agent — no built-in model, no lock-in. Agent Skill, MCP, OpenAPI, CLI, or an ACP chat session.
- Templates — install a whole working setup (Bases, views, docs, sample data, apps, and its agent manual) in one command.
- Local-first and open source — MIT, embedded database, works offline. The same engine powers Busabase Cloud.
| |
|---|
| |
| Database — typed, related, queryable records | Knowledge base — durable docs with version history |
| |
| Skills — reusable instructions and supporting files | Apps — focused interfaces built on workspace data |
| |
| Change Requests — see exactly what an agent changed | History — source, reviewer, commit, and timeline |
| |
| Whiteboards — visual context shared with agents | Workflows — processes kept beside their data |
Review agent Change Requests and open records from the Busabase mobile app.
Connect Your Agent
Works with Claude Code · Codex · Cursor · Gemini CLI · OpenCode · OpenClaw · Hermes · Buda AI · n8n — or your own process.
| Connection | Best for |
|---|
| Agent Skill | Coding agents and local CLIs that can follow workspace instructions |
| MCP | Tool-aware agents and IDEs that need typed workspace operations |
| OpenAPI / CLI | Apps, scripts, automations, and custom agents |
| SDKs | TypeScript (busabase-sdk) and Python (pip install busabase) apps, scripts, and notebooks |
| Email SDK | busabase-email-sdk sends email through SMTP or SES, reads IMAP replies, and records conversations in your Bases |
| Agents view (ACP) | Conversational sessions with inline tool activity and permission requests |
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
